When it comes to taking time off for a vacation, you already know that you’ll want to be able to fit the maximum amount of enjoyment into the time you have off from work. But chances are, you’d also like for that certain sense of well-being and unparalleled joy you feel while on vacation to carry over to the rest of the year, too. The good news for beach lovers: it turns out that oceanside vacations can be some of the best for your mental and physical health, both during and long after your stay. As one of the best hotels near Clearwater, FL, we’d love to be a part of your vacation experience – and we like to believe that a stay at Page Terrace can help you experience the following benefits of a beach vacation for yourself.

  1. It Soothes Your Senses. Especially if you’re visiting from a non-oceanside location, being at the beach can be a sensory overload – in a good way. The soft sand between your toes, the gentle lapping of the waves, the endless blue and smell of saltwater… there’s a reason these feelings are replicated in white noise machines and air fresheners (though of course, they’re not nearly as good!).Studies have shown that, for a variety of reasons, the exact unique combination of sensory perceptions you get at the beach can lower your heart rate and blood pressure and create a sense of mental tranquility that translates to overall improved health. These experiences can also release serotonin, a known feel-good chemical that promotes happiness and satisfaction.
  2. It encourages meditative breathing patterns. Just close your eyes and think about the last time you were at the beach. With the waves lapping with regularity, gulls calling on occasion and the sun warming you, there’s a fairly good chance that – if you’re anything like us – you’ve either fallen asleep or into a trance-like feeling of complete relaxation.This sensation is due in large part to the relaxed, steady breathing that results as a combination of the fresh ocean air and constant, yet soothing, background noises of nature. Some studies have even put forth the idea that the negative ions caused by beach air help to improve mood.
  3. The sun is a natural mood-booster – and good for your body (in the right doses). Everyone knows the sun is markedly stronger at the beach – that’s why we stock up on SPF 50 before vacations, when normally we might wear SPF 15 at the most! While it’s important to protect ourselves from the sun, our friendly neighborhood star isn’t all bad; sun exposure helps bodies to produce vitamin D, which in turn can strengthen bones due to the increased ability to absorb calcium. What this means, of course, is that that boardwalk ice cream is a health food after a few hours of sunning.Sunlight also has been hypothesized to cause an improvement in mood by making retinal cells release a chemical that may, in turn, increase mood. Whatever the theoretical workings behind it, all we know is that a day at the beach certainly makes us forget all our woes.